Hall of Fame
David J. McBride ’65 – Class of 2007
Setting the stage…
Le Moyne’s athletic history is studded with magical moments. None is more thrilling to recall than a spring day in 1965 when the upstart team from the Salt City stunned an assembly of the best runners in the nation by winning the Penn Relays sprint medley.
The anchor of that team was Bill Ripple, whose exploits are also recorded in this hall. Bill O’Donnell and Chuck Desmond ran the middle legs. But the stage for victory was set by a young man from McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, remembered as the best long sprinter in Dolphin history, who kept his team in the thick of the race with a spectacular leadoff leg against the best runners in the country.
Consistently running 440 yards in less than 49 seconds, by the end of his college career he held all-time Le Moyne records in the 440, 600 and 880; and participated in record-setting relays in the mile, two mile, sprint medley and distance medley.
He is remembered by Le Moyne Hall of Fame Coach Dick May as a fun-loving athlete who enlivened the team. His academic work on the Heights and his gregarious nature prepared him for a career working with young people. He helped set the stage for countless careers as a distinguished high school science teacher and track and cross country coach.
Two National Science Foundation grants, an internship at NASA’s Educational Workshop for Mathematics, Science and Technology Teachers, and a Teacher-of-the-Year award attest to his skill in the classroom.He has volunteered as a track and field official, president, vice president and rules interpreter for the Rochester-Monroe County Track and Field Association and served his hometown Volunteer Ambulance and Public Library.A graduate who set the stage for a magical moment in Dolphin athletics, and whose life reflects honor on his alma mater as a husband, father, teacher and volunteer
David J. McBride ’65 is inducted into the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of FameOctober 19, 2007
